SECURITY: Personal lesson make your User Id random

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

OK so I’ve become very lazy —  security wise.

My Frau version 2 recently got “hacked”.  Not exactly sure what or how it happened BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt), she was getting text code to confirm a password change on a financial account’s website.  She attributed to yet another credit card being “stolen”. Not sure if I agree with that. Given that she uses a childhood nickname as her User Id, then I suspect maybe the financial institution or one of its many contractors or data handlers has had a leak.

Anyway, I’ve begun changing all my User Ids from something easily know or guessable to some random string generate by my password manager. For example, instead of “myname@myemailprovider.com”, I’m now know as “Unthread1-Batch7”.

Belt and suspenders?  Maybe.  But who can tell!

— 30 — 


RANT: Do protestors have constitutional rights to reside in America?

Monday, January 26, 2026

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/federal-judge-left-shocked-when-doj-attorney-drops/

Federal Judge Left SHOCKED When DOJ Attorney Drops a Brutal Truth Bomb After Judge Goes on Tirade Against President Trump Regarding ‘Unconstitutional’ Deportations
by Cullen Linebarger Jan. 16, 2026 10:15 am

*** begin quote ***

A so-called federal judge was caught off guard when an administration attorney dropped a devastating truth bomb that put all of his whining over Trump to shame.

As Politico reported, a federal judge presiding over a lawsuit in Boston regarding the deportation of foreign, pro-Hamas activists went off on Trump and his cabinet on Thursday for orchestrating an “unconstitutional conspiracy” to pick off migrants.

The affected activists include Columbia University’s Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Madhawi, Tufts University Ph.D. student Rumeysa Ozturk, and Georgetown University academic Badar Khan Suri. These students have all issued hateful anti-American and ant-Semitic remarks, leaving other students uncomfortable.

Despite the activists having no constitutional right to reside in America, U.S. District Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee, decided to bash Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

*** end quote ***

I’d suggest “no”.  

They are “guests” in our country and as such have a responsibility to refrain from involvement in our “internal affairs”.  They could become citizens and then have a right to “seek redress of grievances”. BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt), not as an invited guest permitted to be here.

As such, they should be deported IMMEDIATELY!

And, the Senate should IMMEDIATELY impeach U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young for his comments and allowing his personal opinions, which he certainly has a right to have, to insert themselves in court proceedings.  Time to bring judges in line as “impartial arbiters of law”; not emotional partisans.

Argh!

— 30 —


ENCOURAGING: The outcome shadows decision quality

Sunday, January 25, 2026

https://bookfreak.substack.com/p/book-freak-193-how-to-decide?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1194226&post_id=183593966&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1uhcoe&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Book Freak #193: How to Decide
Simple Tools for Making Better Choices
Mark Frauenfelder
Jan 13, 2026

*** begin quote ***

Stop “Resulting”

“Resulting” is Duke’s term for judging a decision’s quality by its outcome. A good decision can lead to a bad outcome (and vice versa) because of factors outside your control. When you overfit decision quality to outcome quality, you risk repeating errors that preceded a lucky good outcome and avoiding good decisions that didn’t work out due to bad luck.

*** end quote ***

“The quality of the outcome casts a shadow over our ability to see the quality of the decision.” — Annie Duke poker player

What a great observation!  Too often, I’ve confused the result with the decision process.  I wonder now, if I’ve been betrayed by my own paradigms?

— 30 —


TECHNOLOGY: T-Mobile and ATT blamed when VZ goes down

Saturday, January 24, 2026

https://www.androidauthority.com/downdetector-carrier-reports-spike-3632489/?utm_source=newsletter

T-Mobile and AT&T also seeing an uptick in outage reports during today’s Verizon disruption
Not as many reports as Verizon, but still a bunch.
By https://www.androidauthority.com/author/taylorkerns/
18 hours ago 
<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2026-01-15>>

*** begin quote ***

  • Verizon is experiencing a significant service outage today.
  • Other services, including AT&T and T-Mobile, have seen smaller but still significant upticks in outage reports on Downdetector.
  • Verizon has said it’s working on a fix for its own service issues today.

*** end quote ***

​I have a second phone on Google Fi, which basically costs nothing if not used.

“3 is 2! 2 is 1! 1 is none! Look for redundant capability; not redundant gear!” — a disaster recovery adage

Just an FYI.

— 30 —


CLOUD: Google is “soulless” as is Apple, Microsoft, and other Big Tech

Friday, January 23, 2026

https://www.androidauthority.com/google-one-deal-insult-illegal-3632009/

This Google One deal is a calculated insult if you ask me
It’s a loyalty tax we all have to pay.
By https://www.androidauthority.com/author/mitjarutnik/

<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2026-01-15>>

*** begin quote ***

However, Google is no ordinary company, and it knows it. Its strategy is simple: lure users in with promos, get them hooked on the service, entrench them in the ecosystem, and then hike up the price. Google knows that once your Gmail is at capacity and you have terabytes of photos and videos stored in its cloud service, the costs of switching are too high for most people to bear. The technical pain of migrating data to a new provider is a larger hurdle than the financial pain of a price hike. It’s a brilliant business move, but it’s predatory, and it’s exactly why Big Tech feels so soulless.

*** end quote ***

Well, I, for one, am planning to move to a NAS (Network Attached Storage) and reduce my dependence upon the Cloud.

I’m also planning to leave the Apple “Walled Garden” and Google “ecosystem”.  

I cleaning up all the shoulda, coulda, and woulda projects!

“Making a list; checking it twice; gonna find out who’s naughty and nice.”

Argh!

— 30 —


GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Counseling for ideological thoughts?

Thursday, January 22, 2026

https://www.vigilantfox.com/p/schools-flag-11-year-olds-as-terrorists?publication_id=975571&post_id=184483013&isFreemail=true&r=60qmwq&triedRedirect=true

Daily Pulse
Schools Flag 11-Year-Olds as Terrorists for Questioning Mass Migration | Daily Pulse

  • They’re training kids to report “bad thoughts.” One wrong move—and the system takes over.

The Vigilant Fox
Jan 13, 2026

*** begin quote ***

STORY #1 – Students are being monitored for thought crimes through a government-funded video game in UK schools.

Kids as young as 11 are warned that they could be flagged as potential terrorists simply for questioning mass migration.

The game, Pathways, puts students in control of a white character navigating so-called moral dilemmas. If they express the “wrong” opinion, share the “wrong” video, or attend a protest defending British values, their extremism meter climbs. The penalty? Counseling for ideological thoughts or a referral to PREVENT—Britain’s official counterterrorism program.

Even researching immigration statistics is treated as suspicious. If a student dares to “look into it more,” the game warns: you’re being radicalized.

Looking up the truth is now a red flag.

This isn’t education. It’s psychological conditioning—pressuring children to stay silent, conform, and report their peers for independent thought.

Maria Zeee exposes what happens after a child is flagged, and just how little power parents have once the state takes over.

*** end quote ***

Well, what do “We, The Sheeple” expect when you have Gooferment Skrules?

The Prussian model of “education” is to create cannon fodder for the Army, willing morons for the factories, and useful idiots to vote for and be led by the elite!

It’s nothing more that an “indoctrination camp”.

This was once a land where every sane person knew how to build a shelter, grow food, and entertain one another. Now we have been rendered permanent children. It’s the architects of forced schooling who are responsible for that.
John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling

— 30 —


INSPIRATIONAL: Surgeon Saved His Life as a Teenage Immigrant

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/a-surgeon-saved-his-life-as-a-teenage-immigrant-now-they-operate-together-for-charity-in-ethiopia/?utm_source=newsletter.goodnewsnetwork.org&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=newborn-seals-strike-a-pose&_bhlid=ea31a3722d85b0f5607e35bb57c75f12874b42ea

A Surgeon Saved His Life as a Teenage Immigrant. Now They Operate Together for Charity in Ethiopia
By Andy Corbley – Jan 13, 2026

*** begin quote ***

One can imagine it didn’t take much for him to make room in his schedule to return to Ethiopia to do surgeries through the nonprofit Heart Attack Ethiopia. On the first surgery mission trip a couple of years ago, Mesfin surprised Dr. Jim Kauten, who was also there at the time.

“That was especially nice in my mind,” Kauten said. “For him to be able to pay back to his community services that he received in the United States, and he was able to pay it back in Ethiopia.”

As well as providing a key service in the operating theater, the native Amharic-speaker acts as the social glue between volunteer surgeons and patients, children like he once was, unable to understand or talk to his benefactors. His translations help put the patients at ease and stitch both sides of the volunteer team together.

*** end quote ***

Sometimes we never know who benefits or how they benefit.  In this case, there was a great feedback loop. The lack of feedback should never discourage charity. 

Have you heard that old Irish adage about “good works only count if done in secret”. Funny, I learned that from my maternal English Protestant grandmother who wanted to teach me about my maternal grandfather’s “heathen Irish culture that has a few good points”. ROFL!

— 30 —
 


INSPIRATIONAL: The largest underwater structure ever discovered in France rewrites history?

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/p/7000-year-old-underwater-wall-raises?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2863167&post_id=184352981&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=58ecz2&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

7,000-year-old underwater wall raises questions about ancient engineering — and lost-city legends

  • Scientists found a massive underwater wall off the coast of France that might help explain the origin of the legend of Ys.

Big Think By Frank Jacobs
Jan 13, 2026

*** begin quote ***

The structure consists of some 60 massive granite monoliths, set directly onto the bedrock in pairs at regular intervals. Smaller slabs and packing stones fill in the gaps, locking the whole into a single, deliberate construction. With an estimated total mass of around 3,300 tons, this is the largest underwater structure ever discovered in France.

The team named it TAF1, after Toul ar Fot, the Breton term for this stretch of sea (in English: “Hole of the Wave.”)

TAF1 is not just massive; it’s ancient as well. By reconstructing ancient shorelines, researchers dated the wall to between 5,800 and 5,300 B.C. That’s centuries older than Stonehenge, and millennia older than the pyramids of Giza.

*** end quote ***

Once again demonstrating how little humanity knows about anything, in this case about the past.  Stunningly pushing back the “oldest” label from Stonehenge.  (I’ve seen it personally and, as a fat old white guy injineer, all I could think was “NFW did humans do this without heavy equipment”!  Some smart people have found that with sand and wobbling big <synonym for excrement> could be moved.  But vast distances?  Here’s an example of “hunter gatherers” doing big construction.  

Bottom line:  Where there is a will; there’s a way.  And, don’t underestimate any human no matter what you think, they are geniuses just waiting to prove your pre-conceived notions wrong.

“People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.” George Bernard Shaw

— 30 —


TECHNOLOGY: Maybe a simple small phone is good for children and older adults?

Monday, January 19, 2026

https://www.androidauthority.com/mudita-kompakt-hands-on-ces-2026-3631800/?utm_source=newsletter

This tiny, e-ink Android phone is the minimalist gadget I’ve been waiting for
Say hello to the Mudita Kompakt.
By Joe Maring
<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2026-01-14>>

*** begin quote ***

One of the more interesting smartphone trends of the last year or two has been the rise of minimalist phones; phones that are designed to be less addictive than “regular” smartphones while still keeping you connected to phone calls, texts, etc.

I saw one such device at CES 2026 last week. It’s called the Mudita Kompakt, and compared to other minimalist phones on the market today, it’s the first one I’m actually tempted to buy.

As you’d expect from a phone of this caliber, the Mudita Kompakt is a pretty simple device. It has a 4.3-inch e-ink touchscreen display, a 3.5mm headphone jack, IP54 dust/water resistance, 32GB of storage (expandable up to 2TB), and a 3,300mAh battery rated to last up to six days.

*** end quote ***

​This might be a good phone for “children” who are old enough to handle it. Unlike the politicians and bureaucrats that run schools, I think that children NEED to be able to communicate with parents and visa versa. Teachers are not above suspicion and emergencies happen. Like when my child’s bus driver missed his drop off. And, there has been (at least one or two that I remember) school shootings that were first reported by a “child” with his phone.

Heck I might ever get one as my “next” phone! Might even be perfect for befuddled old people like me?

— 30 —


MONEY: Paper money has zero intrinsic value; hard money prevents chaos

Sunday, January 18, 2026

https://joehoft.com/up-in-smoke-irans-currency-totally-collapses/

UP IN SMOKE – Iran’s Currency Totally Collapses
January 13, 2026 by Joe Hoft

*** begin quote ***

The crisis for the Islamic Iranian regime just got worse as the country’s currency totally collapsed. It’s virtually worthless.

The International Business Times reports on Iran’s currency crash:

The Iranian rial has effectively collapsed, plummeting to an unprecedented low of more than 1.47 million per US dollar on unofficial markets this week. The currency crash has triggered a wave of nationwide ‘revolutionary’ protests, as the cost of basic survival spirals out of reach for millions of Iranians.

On Monday, 12 January 2026, the dollar was quoted as high as 1.47 million rials in the ‘free market’ of Tehran, marking a catastrophic decline from 2025 levels. For comparison, the rial traded at roughly 70 to the dollar during the 1979 revolution; it has now lost approximately 20,000 times its value over four decades, according to The Economic Times.

*** end quote ***

The Dead Old White Guys were very right when they said that money should only be gold or silver.  Their wisdom is on display for anyone that cares to see.

It the Iranian rial was a gold coin, then it would be very hard to start a panic.

I believe that one of the reasons that Gaddafi was deposed from Liberia was that he wanted to be paid for his oil in gold. The first time I heard about a golden dinar was when he was agitating against the Petro dollar.  His mistake was making it public.

I hope everyone has a few silver eagles stashed away for the “hard times” when they come.  And they will come because paper money always returns to its intrinsic value —  zero!  “Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value – zero.” — Voltaire 

William Rusher, the editor of the conservative National Review, quoted economist Milton Friedman as saying that “if the government were to take over the Sahara Desert, there would be a shortage of sand in five years.”

“Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind, none has been more effective than that which deludes them with paper money.” — Daniel Webster

“But if in the pursuit of the means we should unfortunately stumble again on unfunded paper money or any similar species of fraud, we shall assuredly give a fatal stab to our national credit in its infancy. Paper money will invariably operate in the body of politics as spirit liquors on the human body. They prey on the vitals and ultimately destroy them. Paper money has had the effect in your state that it will ever have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice.” — George Washington

“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” — Thomas Jefferson

“Welcome to the age of paper money, where governments and central banks can manufacture as much money as they want without limit. Gold was the last limit. Its banishment as a standard unleashed the inflation monster and leviathan itself, which has swelled beyond comprehension.” — Llewellyn Rockwell

“He chose poorly.” A mammoth understatement by the Grail Knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097576/quotes

What form of money do you choose to save in?

— 30 —


SOFTWARE: PROTON PASS is “uncontactable”

Saturday, January 17, 2026

https://proton.me/support/troubleshooting?product=pass

PROTON, PROTON PASS

# – # – # – # – #

I’m using the PROTON suite.

I had a question about PROTON PASS.

I can’t see how to generate a random password.

And, I couldn’t find any way to leave a message, email, or comment. Argh!

The original question is just an :annoyance”,

Not being able to contact is a “big negative”.

Argh!

— 30 —


GOVEROTRAGEOUS: Leave bear eviction to the private sector

Saturday, January 17, 2026

https://nypost.com/2026/01/08/us-news/bear-living-under-mans-california-home-finally-leaves/

Giant bear living under LA man’s house finally leaves after 37 days — thanks to this bizarre method
By Jeremy Louwerse
Published Jan. 8, 2026, 6:18 p.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

The bear eviction finally happened Tuesday after Johnson contacted “The Bear League” — a group from Lake Tahoe that specializes in bear removal emergencies.

“We heard about Ken, we felt bad for him and flew down and got the bear out,” said Ann Bryant, the founder and executive director.

The crew jumped into action, firing paintballs into the crawl space until the bruin had enough — retreating from its den.

“The bear was gone in 20 minutes,” Bryant said.

The paintballs are filled with vegetable oil and sometimes “they hit the bear in the rump,” added Bryant — who said her organization does between six and eight bear extractions a day.

Johnson told The Post he quickly covered the crawl space with two layers of plywood and sandbags to prevent the bear from ever coming back. The Bear League also placed an “electric mat” in front of the crawlspace designed to give a small shock if stepped on.

The shock mat proved to be handy when the bear returned Wednesday but got zapped.

*** end quote ***

Take note that the Gooferment’s efforts caught the wrong bear.  That made me laugh.  We all know that the Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy.  Why do they keep demonstrating it to us?

Like most private sector fee market solutions, it was quick and easy.  And, painless except to the bear who found it a PIA (pain in the ass)! Laugh!

Seriously, about the only thing the Gooferment is good at is killing things!

Argh!

— 30 —


DISCOURAGING: Catholic youth basketball game parents set a new low bar for conduct

Friday, January 16, 2026

https://nypost.com/2026/01/15/us-news/nyc-parents-erupt-into-massive-brawl-during-catholic-youth-basketball-game-at-staten-island/

Parents erupt into massive brawl during Catholic youth basketball game in Staten Island
By Bonny Chu, Fox News
Published Jan. 15, 2026
Updated Jan. 15, 2026, 7:21 a.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

Spectators ejected by a referee for disruptive behavior at a CYO basketball game will now face a one-year ban.

“The mission was about the kids,” Fossella, whose children reportedly played CYO basketball, said during a press conference.

“The mission was about teaching them responsibility. The mission was about them having a good time: the kids. The kids are the center of this universe here. And every once in a while some spectators get out of control and ruin it for the kids and ruin it for everybody else.”

*** end quote ***

Hard to imagine that could occur.

When my sainted wife was coaching 6-8 grade girls basketball, she had ONE instance where ONE parent was getting “too EXCITED with the refs”.   She immediately called a (valuable) time out, left the team with her assistant and me, stomped across the court, and QUIETLY read the parent the riot act.  That was the last we ever heard him do that at a game. The Old Lady didn’t want any <synonym for excrement> distracting “her” girls.  

Hopefully all involved are properly “instructed in the error of their ways”.   For Catholics to behave like common street thugs is a terrible example to set for their children, other children, and the world in general.

— 30 —

 

 

*** end quote ***


POLITICAL: Why can’t we just declare “victory” and end the War on Drugs?

Thursday, January 15, 2026

https://internationalman.com/articles/the-idiocy-of-using-a-200-billion-navy-to-enforce-a-140-cocaine-premium/

The Idiocy of Using a $200 Billion Navy to Enforce a 140× Cocaine Premium

by David Stockman

<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2026-01-09>>

*** begin quote ***

Stated differently, the idiots behind Prohibition—from alcohol to cocaine and heroin—believe that they can win by defying the law of supply and demand.

*** and ***

And that gets us to the absurd economics of the so-called War on Drugs. In this case, we are talking about using hundreds of thousands of domestic law enforcement personal led by the DEA, thousands of Coast Guard and other border patrol and now $40 billion Navy carrier battle-groups to hunt down 312,000 pounds of a drug that is no more lethal than alcohol!

After all, the US governments at all levels spends an estimated $100 billion per year on the War on Drugs. So even if just 20% of that is directly against the cocaine traffic, that’s nearly $320,000 per pound of cocaine interdicted!

That’s surely stupid enough, but it’s not even the half of it. Spending that much on policing, interdiction and supply destruction drives the price skyward.

*** and ***

The folly described above is not an isolated mistake but a symptom of a system that no longer understands economics, incentives, or limits. An empire that misuses power abroad while debasing its currency at home inevitably reaches for coercion when the bill comes due.

*** end quote ***

Like Vietnam, the Gooferment should just leave the War on Drugs or the “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs” by declaring “victory” and saying the problem is no longer “out of control” or “significant”.  We all know that the Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy.  So why not let it “lie” its way out of a stupid policy?

— 30 —


DISCOURAGING: Seems like “Somali Immigration” is a national disaster!

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/watch-gop-rep-brandon-gill-busts-receipts-during/

WATCH: GOP Rep. Brandon Gill Busts Out the Receipts During Hearing and HUMILIATES Democrat Witness After Dem. Asserts Massive Somali Immigration Stengthens Minnesota
by Cullen Linebarger Jan. 7, 2026 12:20 pm

*** begin quote ***

GILL: Let me ask you one more: What percentage of Somali-headed households are on welfare in general?.

BALLOU: I don’t know.

GILL: It’s 81%…After ten years of being in the United States, what percentage of Somali households continue to be on welfare?

BALLOU. I don’t know.

GILL: The number is 78%.

*** and ***

GILL: What percentage of working-age Somalis who have been in the U.S. for ten years or more, how many of them speak English very well?

BALLOU: I don’t know.

GILL: The answer is about half. That seems pretty low, doesn’t it?

*** end quote ***

Hard to see any positive impact of “Somali Immigration” except that the D’s seem to like it just fine.  The Taxpayers of Minnesota and the USA may have a much different perspective.

I have a few “modest” solutions:

  • All felons are immediately deported.  If they are naturalized citizens, then they are immediately “denaturalized”!
  • All Federal programs must end.  If States want to fund something, then they can do it.
  • All immigrants must pass a basic English test or will not be admitted.
  • All immigrants must have a sponsor, just like back in the old days.  The sponsor bears responsibility for those they sponsor —  if a felon is committed, the sponsor goes to jail.

That should clean stuff up in a hurry.  It’s all about incentives.

— 30 —


MEMORIES: Reflections upon another year around the sun

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

An old tradition in parts of Germany for men who were still single on their 30th birthday was to sweep the steps of city hall while dressed in drag until they could find a virgin to kiss. Fortunately, it’s been modernized a bit since then. Now, single men and women spend their 30th drinking cheap booze with their friends while sweeping steps or doing other chores to show they’re “eligible” for marriage.

“Birthdays” are just “life’s participation trophies”.

I once wrote:

Maybe someday it’ll be worth “grazillions” at that Antique Roadshow. I can hear it now: “Yes, Veronica, it’s an original primitive author from the earliest days of print on demand when the aboriginal people committed their stories to bound pages of paper. How did you come by this?” “My Great Great Grandmother Terry was a Real Estate Agent and sold Ferdinand a house. And, he was so pleased he gave her this book. She didn’t think much of it, but my Great Grandmother prized it. So it was handed down to me.” “You do know this is an original with a self-proving provenance?” “Really, I had no idea!” “Yes, all of the originals from the author have a personal dedication and are signed on page 51. Do you have any idea how much it is worth?” “No, but always thought $100 because of it’s uniqueness.” “Well, as an original American primitive author, it’s very rare. We believe less than 100 copies were created at cost of less than $20 each. And, it gives us a rare authentic insight to the American culture from the 1950’s to the 2010’s. So, at auction, we believe that it will be sold for … …”

and there the dream ends. ROFL!

Who knows when life really ends?  Maybe when we lose our senses — humor, pathos, frustration, wonder — those are our real senses.

In any event, until the final curtain, this Reinke will just “Face Life”.

Laugh!

— 30 —


ENCOURAGING: Cuban refugee marvels at a Costa Rican farmers market

Monday, January 12, 2026

https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2025/12/28/shed-never-seen-that-much-food-before-a-hard-truth-from-a-farmers-market-n4947618

She’d Never Seen That Much Food Before: A Hard Reality From a Farmers Market
Sarah Anderson | 3:39 PM on December 28, 2025

*** begin quote ***

While filming herself seasoning a large roast, she adds:

I don’t know if you know this, but Christmas isn’t celebrated in Cuba. Most people don’t even have enough money to buy a piece of meat or decorate their homes with lights.

Things are so incredibly different here that I invite you to appreciate it; you can’t imagine how happy people are in this country, and they haven’t even realized it.

Today, I’m only thinking about my family, about how many people didn’t even have a plate of food to eat, how they spent Christmas without electricity, without water, without motivation, and without hope.

*** end quote ***

While “We, The Sheeple” in the Pepuls Republik of Nu Jerk vote in a “democratic socialist”, here we have testimony about living in a Communist country.  We have great examples of “socialism” and what results.  Yet we are too stupid to learn the lesson.

Argh!

More examples like this are encouraging since the difference is so dramatic.

— 30 —


HEALTHCARE: Shouldn’t the US emulate Denmark with respect to vaccines

Sunday, January 11, 2026

https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/can-the-us-emulate-denmarks-control?publication_id=1119676&post_id=183742515&isFreemail=true&r=3snn7d&triedRedirect=true

Can the US Emulate Denmark’s Control Over Communicable Disease?
Dr McCullough responds to vaccine ideology
from Peter Hotez on FOX Business, The Evening Edit
Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
Jan 07, 2026

*** begin quote ***

Denmark maintains high control over vaccine-preventable diseases despite having one of the most streamlined childhood vaccine schedules among high-income nations. The Danish program vaccinates children against about 10–11 diseases, fewer than the 16–18 historically targeted by the U.S. schedule. Core Danish vaccines cover measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal disease, and HPV. The system omits universal vaccination for RSV, influenza, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, varicella (chickenpox), and meningococcal disease.

Denmark has universal healthcare, a national health registry, and high compliance rates, which enable rapid outbreak detection and treatment.

*** end quote ***

I especially like the idea that patients and doctors can decide if a particular vaccine is needed.  Since individuals are different, everything should be subject to their specific needs.  We are learning that now organs are being created custom for the individual to avoid complications and rejections.  

We need more “science” and a lot less Gooferment “knowing what is best for us”. 

Argh!

— 30 —


POLITICAL: Stop shielding criminal police

Saturday, January 10, 2026

https://downsizedc.org/act/qualified-immunity-end-it-2/

Qualified Immunity: End it!
Stop shielding criminal police

*** begin quote ***

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that qualified immunity did NOT protect the cops this time. That means that citizens of the 5th Circuit – in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi – may now have slightly greater protection against police misconduct.

Sadly, qualified immunity continues to protect cops when they lock prisoners in sewage-flooded cells, assault innocent people with tear gas, steal hundreds of thousands of dollars, and shoot kids while attempting to murder dogs. Only congressional legislation can fix this problem once and for all, especially given that the Supreme Court declined to hear the most recent qualified immunity case. 

*** end quote ***

The litany of offenses of police, politicians, and bureaucrats is undeniably long and an affront to justice.

Time to have Congress correct it and put accountability back where it belongs.

— 30 —


HEALTHCARE: When the number of administrators goes up at a rate 18 times as much as … … 

Friday, January 9, 2026

https://www.theburningplatform.com/2026/01/02/the-healthcare-grift-in-one-chart/

THE HEALTHCARE GRIFT IN ONE CHART

*** begin quote ***

When the number of administrators goes up at a rate 18 times as much as the number of physicians, you no longer have healthcare, you have a massive grifting operation, designed to enrich health insurance corporations, hospital corporations, Big Pharma corporations, corporate executives, government bureaucrats “overseeing” the healthcare grift, and the politicians who were bribed to create and exacerbate the grift.

*** end quote ***

I remember seeing my Mom’s bill for my appendectomy when I was I’m guessing about 10.  It was for my three day stay in the (I hink) Knickerbocker Hospital.  (I remember thinking that was a funny name for a hospital.)  It was for more than one hundred dollars, but less than two hundred.  My Mom luckily had (?Blue Cross Blue Shield?) thru her employer AT&T.  But she had to pay the bill first and submit a “claim”.  (I’d never heard that before.).  Since it was a lot of money, her whole family sat down and looked at the bill, line by line, and item by item.  I never knew if they found any discrepancies.  But, in the end, everyone chipped in.  I wasn’t privy to who kicked in what.  And, when my Mom got the check for 80% of the claim, she paid everyone back.  Simpler times; lower costs.

From that story, I distill that “Health Care costs” would be a lot less if everyone has to pay a percentage.  Maybe, that percentage could be tied to the poverty line. BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt), everybody pays something. One tenth of a percent up to say ten percent for Medicare / Medicaid Insurance.

I remember two facts: (1) when motorized wheelchairs were new, there was a TV commercial that promised a free one for every one of Medicare; and (2) some news report asserted that a sixth of all Medicare claims in southeast Florida were fraudulent.  Wish I had captured those two “facts” as proof but I am positive of the memory.  (I so sure because at the time my sainted Mother In Law was always griping about phone calls trying to get her to take one. )

So, instead of sending people to jail, the grift was allowed to continue and grow.

Argh!

— 30 —


POLICY: “Malinda’s Law,” a nation-wide registry for individuals with a history of child abuse

Thursday, January 8, 2026

https://www.change.org/p/enact-malinda-s-law-for-child-safety-in-pennsylvania?signed=true

Enact Malinda’s Law for Child Safety in Pennsylvania

*** begin quote ***

We propose “Malinda’s Law,” a new nation-wide registry for individuals with a history of child abuse. This registry would enable real-time communication between agencies whenever a child-related emergency or abuse report involves a prior offender. By strengthening these lines of communication, we aim to protect innocent children from slipping through the cracks of a broken system.

*** end quote ***

And, why not have such a registry in the Pepuls Republik of Nu Jerzee?

I’m a little L libertarian but convicts should be registered.

— 30 —


DISCOURAGING: The Trump administration is really like a Monty Python skit

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

https://internationalman.com/articles/dropping-the-facade-propaganda-power-and-the-absurdity-of-empire/

Dropping the Façade: Propaganda, Power, and the Absurdity of Empire

by Chris MacIntosh

*** begin quote ***

It’s like we’re living in a live Monty Python skit. If we are to consider that the Trump administration can end wars started by previous administrations (pretty easy to cut the funding), then the current podium donut of the Deep State in the US has failed spectacularly.

Existing wars: Ukraine and Israel’s war. Can’t really call it a war, but… well, that conflict.

Trump has continued to fund the oligarchs in Ukraine. He’s continued to fund the Zionists’ genocide in Gaza. He’s bombed Iran on behalf of his handlers. He’s bombed Yemen, funded and assisted in the overthrow of Syria and installed the previous head of ISIS (you can’t make this shit up). And he’s now threatening war with both Venezuela and Colombia on the laughable excuse of “drug trafficking.”

It is the most insane inversion of the truth. I understand how history tends to unfold, and reading through the collapse of previous empires I’m quite sure that none were so terribly absurd as this. Curiously, the rest of the world is no longer playing by the empire’s rules.

*** end quote ***

In this article, he uses “words” and phrases that are really quite good.  I particularly like the phrase “podium donuts” to describe pundit and spokespeople who say a lot of words but really say nothing.  There is a “word” “shulbit” which I haven’t heard since I worked on Wall Street.  They used it to describe politely <synonym for excrement from a male cow> accounting. 

The substance of the whole rant is that DJT4547 could stop these conflicts with the stroke of his pen.  What can anyone do to him?  That hasn’t been done already.  Impeachment?  Sure go ahead and try.  He can’t be reelected, so there’s no threat there.  “They” have already tried to kill him twice.

DJT wants to have legacy?  Just cutoff the money supply to ALL foreign and domestic war mongers.

Remember Gandhi?  He stopped Muslim Hindu violence cold with a hunger strike.  

That’s a peace prize that is within his grasp if he just has the stones to do it.

I’d like to think I could, but it would take a heroic level of courage.

Dona Nobis Pacem

— 30 —


ENCOURAGING: Meanwhile, another student called 911, ensuring help was on the way.

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/brother-sister-spring-into-action-to-help-save-their-school-bus-driver-from-medical-emergency/?utm_source=newsletter.goodnewsnetwork.org&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=brother-and-sister-save-the-day&_bhlid=cf3cf024260334bd3a789a9735873968f30e5b46

Brother-Sister Spring into Action to Help Save Their School Bus Driver from Medical Emergency
By Andy Corbley – Dec 31, 2025

*** begin quote ***

Siblings Leap to the Rescue When School Bus Driver Faces Medical Crisis

When an Ohio school bus driver suffered a medical emergency, 8-year-old Catrina quickly noticed and asked if she was alright. Realizing the driver was in distress, Catrina ran to the back of the bus to alert her older brother, Charlie.

Charlie, a 7th grader, rushed to the front and used the radio to call the school for help. Meanwhile, another student called 911, ensuring help was on the way.

The bus driver had previously taught her riders how to use the radio in emergencies, and she later expressed gratitude that they remembered her instructions.

Their calm, quick actions were praised by the school superintendent, who called the siblings’ response truly outstanding.

*** end quote ***

Well maybe the children of a future generation will not be helpless mind-numbed robots?

I note the story because one child had a cell phone and used it.  

Remember the politicians and bureaucrats want to take cell phones away from children in Gooferment Skrules!

I STILL disagree.  I remember student using their phones during more than one school shooting.  Hard to do that if they are not there, or in a secure Faraday pouch, or locked in school principal’s office, or a a child’s locker.

Children should ALWAYS be able to connect to their parents,

It’s up to the school’s leadership how to make that happen and “confiscation” is NOT the answer!

— 30 —


DISCOURAGING: Michigan Legislators Push Orwellian Vaccination Laws

Monday, January 5, 2026

https://johnklar.substack.com/p/michigan-legislators-push-orwellian?publication_id=779141&post_id=182175531&isFreemail=true&r=3vwsqx&triedRedirect=true

Michigan Legislators Push Orwellian Vaccination Laws
Restricting parental choice in the name of empowerment.
John Klar
Dec 30, 2025

*** begin quote ***

Michigan Legislation of Intimidation

Yet Michigan has launched a series of bills that would require all schools to release immunization status reports on students (HB 5344); all child care centers to release similar reports (HB 5346); a “childhood immunization registry” (HB 5346); all parents to sign a form on their child’s vaccination status (HB 5347); a statewide registry and forms for students seeking an exemption (HB 5348 and 5349); local health officer reports (HB 5350); vaccination recommendations by the Michigan state advisory committee in lieu of the CDC (HB 5351 and 5352); insurance companies must still cover state immunization recommendations even if CDC does not (HB 5353); and expands authority to issue “standing orders: for mass drug roll-outs (HB 5354).

This is a fearsome array of measures to “empower parents” by empowering the state. Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy and ACIP empowered parents to confer with the doctors they trust; this is a reactionary statist power grab of parental choice.

Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion holds that to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This obtains in politics as in physics, through the vaccine wars – Kennedy’s common sense fuels radical Orwellian countermeasures that intrude between parents and their healthcare providers through strong arming.

*** end quote ***

I’m sure hoping that the Michigan voters “educate” their (supposed) representatives that parents, and only parents, should decide what is “best” for their children. IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) the best way to do that is too “unelect” them in the next election.   I really don’t care who their opponents are; this has to be punished.

It’s apparent that “democratic socialism” is a plague that infects “representatives” with God-like power grabs.

Argh!

— 30 —


INSPIRATIONAL: Johan van Hulst spent the rest of his 107-year life haunted by the children he couldn’t save.

Sunday, January 4, 2026

May be an image of text that says 'Weird ፕየብዮ He ran a a school eside a nursery holding Jewish children awaiting deportation. For months, he passed babies over a hedge to safety, saving over 600 lives. What tortured him wasn't the risk or the fear-but choosing which children lived today, and which he had to leave to die.'

*** begin quote ***

Weird but True

This is the story of Johan van Hulst – the teacher who smuggled babies out of a Nazi deportation center for months, and spent the rest of his 107-year life haunted by the children he couldn’t save.

Amsterdam, 1942. 

Johan van Hulst was 31 years old when the Nazis turned his neighbor into a death sentence.

*** and ***

Van Hulst had to choose which children to save.

The crèche held dozens, sometimes hundreds of children. The resistance could only handle a few at a time—they needed families willing to hide them, false papers, transportation, safe houses.

So every day, van Hulst had to pick.

Which baby gets saved today? Which toddler goes over the hedge this afternoon? Which children have to wait—knowing that waiting might mean they’re deported before you can come back for them?

How do you make that choice?

Van Hulst later said in an interview:
“I took twelve children with me. Later on, I asked myself: ‘Why not thirteen?'”

That question haunted him for 75 years.

*** end quote ***

What would you do?  What would I do?

We have a similar situation going on today in Gaza and the Ukraine.

And what are we doing?

I’m only one odd soul and all I can do is tell my “elected representatives” that if they don’t cut funding for these wars, I’m not voting for them in the next election.  I can only imagine the impact if all 350 MILLION citizens echoed the same message.

Dona Nobis Pacem

— 30 —


RANT: Dental malpractice insurance rates will go up as a result of this

Saturday, January 3, 2026

https://nypost.com/2025/12/25/us-news/final-photo-of-arizona-man-killed-during-routine-dental-procedure-resurfaces-as-family-settles-wrongful-death-suit/

Final photo of Arizona man killed during routine dental procedure resurfaces as family settles wrongful death suit
By Caitlin McCormack
Published Dec. 25, 2025, 2:24 a.m. ET

*** begin quote ***

A haunting selfie taken by an Arizona man hours before he suffered a fatal brain injury during a routine dental implant procedure has resurfaced as his distraught parents settled his wrongful death lawsuit.

Derek Swanson, 40, took a picture of himself beaming in a dentist’s chair on March 3, 2023. He captioned the photo: “Yesterday, new car. Today, implant! Fun never stops.”

*** and ***

The grieving parents are also looking to amend Arizona law to require a dentist and an anesthetist to be present during dental surgery.

The current laws state that a dentist can perform surgery and administer anesthesia without an anesthetist present so long as they have the proper state permit.

“We would like to not have another family go through what we had to go through and are going through and will be for the rest of our life,” Swanson told the outlet.

*** end quote ***

I bet all the malpractice insurance rates will go up as a result of this.  If I was an insurance company, then I wouldn’t wait for the politicians and bureaucrats to update their diktats.  I’d be reviewing every individual dental procedure insured, as well as every individual practice’s methods for safety and their results.

The free market, if truly free, would have an “instant” feedback loop of price to adjust for risk.

Argh!

Gooferment is immoral, ineffective, and inefficient. As well as untrustworthy.

— 30 —